Author: David Opderbeck

Categories
Law and Policy

Ethics Week Presentations

This week is ethics week at the college where I teach. I had the opportunity to participate in two panels, one sponsored by the Debate Club and the other by the Jewish Business Leaders club. The Debate Club presentation concerned ethics in doing business in China, specifically relating to censorship regulations concerning web portals such as Google. A copy of my notes is available here. The Jewish Business Leaders Club presentation was a “Religious Perspectives” panel, in which I participated with Rabbi Ricky Hadari. It covered three business case studies in which companies or employees were forced to make hard ethical choices. A copy of my notes is available here.

Categories
Genealogy

The Early Opderbecks

I have an old book that traces my family name in Germany back to the 1600’s. I’ve always wanted to digitize it and have it translated (it’s in old-style German). Here is one of the pictures, of Jan Opderbeck, Reidemeister in Ultena in the 1700’s (I thought “Reidemeister” was a term for some sort of government official, but apparently it’s a generic term for a “wholesaler” or “trader”):

Any resemblance?

Categories
Books and Film

LOST — Gotcha!

I’m a huge fan of the TV show Lost. Tonight I was vigilant enough to catch a blunder. Locke is trapped under a heavy fire door in the hatch. Back on the beach, Sawyer and Jack are playing poker, while a bunch of folks from the island watch — including, in one cutaway scene, Locke! A review and freeze on the DVR confirmed it was Locke, who in the next scene is still trapped under the fire door. I guess the producers need to pay a little more attention to those edits!

Categories
Pascal

Pascal's Wisdom

I’ve been reading Blaise Pascal’s Pensees. Wow. Pascal was brilliant scientist and a fiery Christian thinker. The Pensees are a collection of thoughts about faith and the human condition that Pascal wrote but never published during his lifetime. Here are some of my favorite aphorisms from the Pensees so far (numbers in parens are to the numbering system in my Penguin Classics edition):

  • Thinking too little about things or thinking too much both make us obstinate and fanatical. (21).
  • Man’s condition. Inconstancy, boredom, anxiety. (24)
  • Extremes in the law are extremes of injustice. Majority opinion is the best way because it can be seen and is strong enough to command obedience, but it is the opinion of those who are least clever. (85)
  • Cause and effect. One must have deeper motives and judge everything accordingly, but go on talking like an ordinary person. (91)
Categories
Science & Technology

Modern Physics and Ancient Faith

I’ve begun reading Stephen Barr’s Modern Physics and Ancient Faith. Barr is a theoretical particle physicist at the University of Delaware. The book is a fascinating account of how modern physics undercuts the basis for philosophical materialism.

I should note that Barr, a Catholic, is not an “Intelligent Design” proponent. In fact, Barr has published a short critique of some aspects of ID theory in First Things. In this book, rather than addressing Intelligent Design theory, Barr discusses classical arguments from design and shows how modern physics presents problems for philosophcial materialists. I’ve only begun reading, but here is a nice quote from the book’s first chapter:

The believing Jew or Christian does not feel the need to be embarrassed when materialists attack religion as ‘anti-scientific’ or irrational. For he regards his own beliefs as not less but far more rational than those of the materialst. He regards them as providing a fuller, more coherent, and more sensible picture of reality. A picture in which the existence of the universe is not merely some colossal accident, in which human life has both purpose and meaning, in which ideas about ruth and falsehood and good and evil are more than chemical responses in our brains, and in which the beauty, harmony, and order of the universe, which science has helped us to see more clearly than ever before, are recognized as the product of a wisdom and a reason that transcends our own.

Stay tuned for more.

Categories
Epistemology

Foundationalist Ontology, Nonfoundationalist Epistemology

There’s an interesting article in this month’s First Things by theologian R.R. Reno titled “Theolgy’s Continental Captivity.” Reno reviews a systematic theology text by Catholic theologian Thomas Guarino, which takes up the problem of non-foundationalist theology. Reno makes a compelling distinction, I think, between non-foundationalist ontology and non-foundationalist epistemology.

Non-foundationalist ontology is the sort of non-foundationalism held by the Continental postmodern philosophers. When many of us hear the term “postmodernism,” this is what we conjure. This is the view that there is no “Truth,” but rather there are only linguistic constructs. Reno correctly argues that this sort of non-foundationalism is inimical to Christian notions of Truth.

As Christians, we are ontological foundationalists. We believe there is such a thing as Reality outside our linguistic and social constructs, and that Reality ultimately is grounded in God. Therefore, we believe there is such a thing as “objective” Truth.

There is a difference, however, between the fact of Reality and the extent to which we as human beings can perceive, comprehend and make true statements about Reality. Here, Reno refers helpfully to W.V. Quine.

Continue reading “Foundationalist Ontology, Nonfoundationalist Epistemology”
Categories
Personal News

A Little Boy's Mysterious Brain

Today was a visit to a pediatric epileptolgist. After reviewing the EEGs and asking a bunch of questions, he said he’s certain that our son’s abnormal brain activity in the frontal lobe is directly affecting his speech and language. It was interesting because after observing our son for a brief while he noticed occasional eye flutters and stares that we’d never picked up on. Apparently the little guy is constantly experiencing “brain noise.” I wonder what he hears. Are we sometimes like the adults on the old Charlie Brown specials — “whah whah whah-whah-whah”? The good news is that this doctor gave us some new meds that have an excellent track record with this sort of thing. We’re gaurdedly optimistic that this will move towards some improvement.

And this past week I experienced something I believe is straight from God. I attended a really boring and useless conference at Columbia University on grant writing. I “just happened” to meet there a faculty member in Columbia’s childhood speech and language program. She gave an introduction to the Director and hopefully we’ll get our son in there for evaluation. The doctor we saw today said Columbia’s program is excellent.

Categories
Spirituality

Nothing to Say

I haven’t written anything here in a week or so. Basically, I don’t have much to say right now. Things have been busy, but busy alone doesn’t usually keep me from writing. The truth is, things have been a bit tough spiritually lately. The frustration with finding help for our little guy is bubbling over, some roles I’ve held for a while as a leader have changed substantially, and I’ve been wrestling with some things as I often do. I think I need a little time to reconsolidate, step back, and sit in the back pew so to speak. Just some prayer, a green pasture, some still waters for a while.

Categories
Spirituality

MRI Results

We’re very thankful that the little guy’s MRI results are negative. No tumors or anything like that. His condition remains an enigma, and we now have some other leads to follow up on, but the absence of any sort of potentially life-threatening or irreversible structural brain problem is a relief.

Categories
Spirituality

Addendum — MRI

The little guy is home from the MRI. He handled the anesthesia fine. We should have results in a week or two, unless there is some serious problem, in which case you are notified sooner.